Posts by Lucinda Secrest McDowell

In these lazy, hazy days do you ever find yourself just coasting through life? You know the symptoms – lacking energy or enthusiasm for pursuing new things; feeling jaded or lethargic when you hear others speaking of a new vision or passion. Sometimes you just want to say, “Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt.”…

I have never seen a field of sunflowers in Tuscany. And I’ve never been in Texas in the Spring when the fields are covered in Bluebonnets. But recently I saw an outcropping of Purple and Blue Lupines covering the wilderness in Wyoming and their beauty almost made me cry.   One thing I ask from the…

He was just an old man people rarely saw. A quiet forest dweller, he lived up in the Alps and was known by his task as “the keeper of the spring.” This mountain man had been hired many years earlier by an Austrian village council to clear away the debris from the pools of water…

Johnny was a Revolutionary War veteran. What to do after the war in a new land? Travel west and throw out seeds. Apple seeds. Yes, John Chapman will forever be remembered as “Johnny Appleseed” who planted apple nurseries and orchards throughout Ohio and Indiana. These apple trees helped transform the pioneer land into homesteads, and…

I love hydrangeas. I think they look like bouquets of lace. A few years ago, I was thrilled to receive a beautiful hydrangea plant for my birthday, which was immediately stuck in a hole in the ground outside. But I am not a gardener. Every time blossoms would appear, they turned brown almost immediately and…

Does the sunshine and warmth bring to mind lovely gardens full of blooming flowers and ripe vegetables? If you are ready for some growth in your own life, why not begin here: Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3.18 Such spiritual growth is a process called…

Today is our 37th Wedding Anniversary and Mike is visiting family in Seattle and I am home in Connecticut. But we really are still together — and yes, even throughout a very challenging pandemic year. I am in such a season of looking back and hoping forward, so I’m going to re-post what I wrote…

It is difficult to experience two opposite emotions simultaneously. I’m reminded of the classic Mary Tyler Moore TV episode featuring the death of Chuckles the Clown – where Mary can’t help but laugh uncontrollably during the funeral. She grieves the loss of her television co-worker, but she is also overcome by happy memories of the…

What is the backstory of your life? In a book or movie, the backstory refers to the history behind the current situation — basically what happened before that sets into motion what is happening now. To share your story, it is important to process and understand your early life. Today I’m visiting my hometown in…